In our final full day in Costa Rica, Nebraska LEAD 40 fellows visited a coffee farm and hiked to the bottom of a waterfall. Additionally, fellows revisited the CATIE Botanical Garden for a nighttime wildlife experience.
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LEAD 40 climbs above the town of Aquiares to observe coffee harvest. The community is built around the plantation.
Coffee plants begin in the greenhouse and is then transplanted into the field to mature.
Once transplanted the take approximately two years to mature. A well tended coffee plant can live a century or more but for commercial production the Aquiares Plantation manages trees to about 25 years of age before removing them.
The farm employs both local and migrant workers from Nicaragua who hand pick the cherries on several hundred hectares of production.
The bags of cherries are loaded onto wagons and carter to the nearby mill for sorting and processing.
During a short break overlooking the scenic community, LEAD fellows have an opportunity to capture photographs of the landscape. Pictured: Stephanie Schuler snaps a few keepsake images of Kurtis Harms and Austin Benes.
Director Terry Hejny and Kurtis Harms share a laugh overlooking the vistas of Aquiares.
The mill functions similarly to most processing mills and it all starts here with receiving of coffee cherries.
Once received the cherries are washed and sorted.
While lower commercial grade cherries are tumble dried over heat generated by burning the pruned branches of coffee bushes, more select product is sun dried in greenhouses.
The natural drying process is reserved for specialty beans that meet certain requirements. These cherries must be grown above 1200 meters. They are then floor dried in greenhouses to develop specific flavors and aromas. Pictures right to left: Stephanie Nelson, Cole Lewandowski, Steve Landon, Austin Benes.
Different processes produce fruit, citrus and other natural flavors enhanced once roasted. Some cherries may be fermented before dried. This concentrates and alters the flavor profile of the roasted bean. Pictured left to right: Andrew Bellamy, Mitch Oswald, Kurtis Harms, Dylan Haas, Stephanie Nelson, Tee Bush, Eric Coufal, Rachel Prosser, David Moss.
Once dried the beans are again sorted and graded. Pictured: Hannah Swink, Stephanie Nelson, Chris Grams.
Once dried beans are sacked or roasted. Aquiares roasts only about 5% of their beans on-site. The rest are sold to commercial and specialty coffee roasters for local consumption around the world.
Anyone who has consumed a Costa Rican blend at a Caribou Coffee in the Midwest has likely tasted Aquiares beans. Certified growers here must grow only arabica coffee varieties to ensure maximum flavor and quality. Arabica coffee is well suited to the highland environments and conditions in Costa Rica’s coffee growing regions.
Aquiares is the first recognized and licensed coffee mill in Cost Rica. The pride in quality production and craftsmanship is on display across Costa Rica. The coffee processing mill at Aquiares is spotlessly clean and noticeably well maintained.
This is a culture that is both locally and globally community oriented. Much of the community revolves around their religious faith and a dedication to conservation. The plantation maintains a focus on sustainability practices that enables them to produce a negative carbon output and they are a Rainforest Alliance Partner. They are actively working with institutions like CATIE to enhance the technologies needed to grow coffee sustainably. Pictured is the caretaker of the local Roman Catholic parish.
Nate Parde and his new buddy relax before a private luncheon at the Aquiares gardens.
A well earned lunch after a morning of intense education in the coffee industry of Costa Rica.
The day finishes with a last tour of CATIE to discover the reptile, insect, and amphibians of Costa Rica.